Isabella Orozco
Being a teenager can be difficult, but it can also be exciting.
Arturo
You’re becoming more independent and making your own decisions.
Isabella Orozco
You’re also learning to take risks and solve problems better than before.
Arturo
Changes are happening everywhere in your body and in your brain.
Isabella Orozco
Though you can’t see the changes in your brain, they’re affecting how you become an adult.
Arturo
At this time in your life, there is a process going on inside your brain that makes it work faster and better.
Isabella Orozco
Imagine that your brain is like a big road map.
Arturo
When you were a child, as you learned new things, your brain made many roads going to different places.
Isabella Orozco
By the time you become a teenager, the most important places on the map have many different roads going to them.
Arturo
Now your brain’s job is to make that map more efficient.
Isabella Orozco
To achieve this, it removes the roads that you don’t need and works to make the other roads faster.
Arturo
As a result, your experiences as a teenager affect the way that your brain grows.
Isabella Orozco
For example, if you spend hours playing video games, what skills do you use?
Arturo
You learn that you must move your hands in specific ways to achieve a result on the screen, right?
Isabella Orozco
As you learn those skills, your brain remembers the roads that you used regularly to get the result you wanted.
Arturo
Over time the roads get more efficient and your skills improve.
Isabella Orozco
So playing video games could be preparing you for a career as a fighter pilot or even as a brain scientist.
Arturo
This is a great time for you to practice new skills and to discover what you’re good at and what you love doing.
Isabella Orozco
Go out and try different activities.
Arturo
Remember that with everything you do, you’re changing your brain for the future.
